From the upscale “almost like being in Italy” Houston staple, Da Marco, to eateries like Bernie’s Burger Bus that serves up “absolutely wonderful” burgers out of a retrofitted school bus, today Zagat celebrates over 450 of Houston’s best restaurants. Based on the opinions of 2,071 avid local diners, new ratings and reviews of Houston restaurants are available today at zagat.com/houston and on Google Search and Maps.

While Italian and Seafood are tied as the favorite cuisine (both 18%), Houston restaurants can all agree that diners still love their meat. What they can’t agree on is how to spell barbecue. This year’s top five barbecue joints spell the word four different ways. Serving up brisket diners call “smoked to textbook perfection”, a “religious experience”, and “beautiful”, this year’s Best for BBQ restaurants are:
1. Gatlin’s BBQ (re-opening soon)
2. Killen’s Barbecue
3. CorkScrew Barbecue
4. Pizzitola’s Bar-B-Cue
5. Goode Company Barbeque

According to our National Dining Trends poll, Houston’s avid diners eat out a total of 4.8 times per week for a combined lunch and dinner, more than the national average, 4.5 times per week. The average spend per person for dinner out is $36.49, which is below the $39.40 national figure. After the meal, diners leave a reported 18.4% gratuity (vs. 19.3% nationally.)

Houston diners cited Service as the biggest dining irritant (30%), followed by Noise (17%) Prices (15%), Crowds (13%), Parking (10%), Food (7%), Traffic (4%), and Other (4%). The biggest service complaints were 1. Slow service 2. Inattentive staff and 3. Inadequate training.
Feast on the entire list of Houston’s 50 Best Restaurants at www.zagat.com/best-restaurants/houston.

Today Zagat is revealing new ratings and reviews for nearly 400 of the best restaurants in San Diego - all based on the collective opinions of 2,157 avid local diners. New reviews are available today at zagat.com/san-diego and integrated throughout Google Search and Maps.

Photo: Mille Fleur

This year’s big winners include La Jolla’s Marine Room (Best Decor), boasting "magnificent" ocean views, the "classic" favorite In-N-Out Burger, sweeping the Most Popular category, and the “crème de la crème” of San Diego dining, Mille Fleurs, taking honors for both Best Food and Best Service. Following behind Mille Fleurs on the Best Food list are A.R. Valentien, Sushi Ota, MARKET Restaurant + Bar and Carnitas’ Snack Shack, proving that diners are just as excited about haute cuisine as they are for budget-friendly Triple-Threat Pork Sandwiches.

San Diego’s avid diners eat out 4.8 times per week (combined lunch and dinner), which is more than the 4.5 times per week nationally. The average spend per person for dinner out is $34.10, below the $39.40 national figure. And once the meal ends, diners leave a reported 18.5% gratuity (vs. 19.3% nationally).

When asked about dining irritants, locals cited Service (31%), followed by Parking (19%), Noise (16%), Prices (15%), Crowds and Food (both 7%), Traffic (4%) and Other (1%). The biggest complaints relating to service were 1. Inattentive staff 2. Slow service and 3. Rude staff.

Restaurant habits: A whopping 93% of San Diego diners - the largest percentage nationally - say they have sent a dish back to the kitchen while 81% admit to having eavesdropped on a conversation at the next table. 47% of diners say they are less inclined to dine at a restaurant with a cash-only policy and 32% feel it’s rude and inappropriate for children to use tablets/phones at the table, while 19% say it’s perfectly acceptable.